Force feed lubricator



Patented Aug. 1 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,920,566 FORCE FEEDLUBRICATOR Erich L. Kaegebein, Hammond, Ind.

Application July 25, 1930; Serial No. 470,715

' 1 Claim. (o1. 1s4--2s)- This invention appertains tonovel means forfeeding a lubricant to operating parts of machinery.

One of the primary objects of my invention isv to provide a force feedlubricator which can be effectively used on locomotives as a lubricatoralone or as a combined flange oiler and lubricator and in connectionwithall types of industrial machines. Another important objectof myinventionis to provide a force feed lubricator which will be- A still furtherobject ofmy invention is to provide novel means for operating the pistonof the force feed lubricating cylinder.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a force feedlubricator of the above character, which will be durable and eflicientin use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture, and one whichcan be placed upon the'mark'et at a reasonable cost.

With these andother objects in view, the invention consists in the novelconstruction, ar-

rangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter morespecifically described, claimed,

and illustrated in the accompanying drawingsinwhich drawings:- 7 Figure1 is a longitudinal section through my improved force feed lubricator.

Figure 2 is an end elevationof the same. Figure 3 is a transversesection through a slightly modified form of my lubricator in which pairsof cylinders can be arranged in transverse alignment.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of my improved lubricator. f Figure 5 is anenlarged detail sectional view illustrating the force feed lubricatorcylinder and piston and the means for actuating the piston from theoperating shaft and the means for ad- 1 jjusting the stroke of thepiston for regulating the quantity of oil forced from the cylinder.

Figure 6 is a detail section illustrating the means for operating thepiston from the operatthrough one of the lubricating cylinders'on theline -7-7 of Figure 5 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is a detail longitudinal sectional View through a valve whichcan be used with my lubricator. 1

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar referencecharacters designate corresponding-parts throughout the several views,the

letter A generally indicates my improved force feed lubricator, whichcomprises a casing or tank i 10, for receiving the lubricant. As shown,the tank 10 includes a bottom Wall- 11, end walls 12, side Walls 13, anda removable top wall 14. The top Wall 14 can be provided with swingingclosure plates 15 by means of which lubricant can be introduced into.the casing or tank. If desired, the casing or tank can be provided witha sight glass 16 in order that the height of the lubricant in the casingor tank can be instantly determined.

Extending longitudinally of the tank and rotatably mounted in suitablebearings 1'7 carried by the end walls 12, is the operating shaft 18;This shaft 18 extends an appreciable distance beyond one end wall 12 ofthe casing, for a purpose, which will be later described. 1

The casing or tank 10 receives the cylinders 19 utilized for forcing theoil to the desired point of application and these cylinders have theirupper ends reduced in diameter as at 20 and threaded into the casing ortank 10 through the bottom Wall 11 thereof, any desired means can beprovided for establishing a leak-proof connection between said bottomwall 11 and the cylinders 19. The lower ends of the cylinders can beclosed by removable cylinder heads 21, as shown. Ex tending from thecylinder heads 21 are the pipes 22 for conveying the lubricant, to thedesired point of use. As shown, each cylinder has its inner faceenlarged adjacent to its lower end to a ball valve 26. An expansionspring 27 can be employed for holding the valve 26 on itsseat and thisspring is preferably housed within a sleeve 28, which also functions tohold the valve plate 24 against the shoulder 23. The upper end of eachcylinder slidably receives the piston 29 which is rigidly mounted on apiston rod 30. A

guide .ancl'cover plate 31 is provided for the upper end of eachcylinder and the piston rod.

30 slidablyextends through said plate 31. An expansion spring 32 isplaced about each piston rod 30 and the lower end of each spring bearsagainst the upper face of each plate 30 and the upper end of each spring32 bears against a cross pin 33 inserted through the piston rod 30. Thuseach piston is normally held in a raised position inits cylinder.

An oil inlet port 34 is formed in each cylinder and communicates withthe interior of the oil tank or casing 10, preferably at a point lower.

than the uppermost position of the piston 29. Likewise the cylinder isprovided with an air port 35 having communicating therewith a pipe 36which extends above the level of the oil in the tank or casing 10. Thispipe 36 allows the exit of air from the cylinder during the opera tionof the piston and more particularly during the upward stroke of thepiston 29. The operating shaft 18 is provided with throw came 37 for,engaging the upper ends of the piston rods and for actuating the pistonsduring the rotation of the said operating shaft. As is clearlyillustrated in Figure 5, the air outlet port 35 is on the samehorizontal line with the oil inlet port 34 where the oil from the casing10 enters the cylinder19. When the piston 29 is in the position asillustrated in Figure 5 the port 34 is open and the cylinder 19 fills upwith oil to its full capacity andhas nothing to do with air outlet port35- and pipe '36. As the piston 29 passes inwardly of the cylinder 19under the influence of a cam 37, the piston 29 passes ports 34 and 35and at the same time forces the lubricant out at ball valve 25 until thepiston. 29 reaches the end of its stroke. As the piston starts itsupward or opposite movement, due to the action of. the spring 32 thetight fit of the piston 29 as eifected by its conventional packingtogether with theclosing of the valve 25 causes the possibility of avacuum being created as the piston 29 rises higher and higher until itpasses the ports 34 and 35. When the piston passes the ports 34 and 35any possible'vacuum created will be broken. If the ports 34 and 35 wereabsent with the creation of such a vacuum the airmust be outot thecylinder before the lubricant would. enter and such air would passoutthrough the lubricant in the form of a bubble.

If the machine is running fast and a heavy viscosity lubricant is usedthe piston 29 will travel downward and pass port 34 before the air wouldhave time to get out in the form of a bubble and admit oil. The port 35together with its associated pipe 36 is of advantage as it avoids this.The port 35 together with its pipe 36 furthermore has no effect on thepressure produced by the piston 29 although the air vent is open.

Particular attention is now invited to Figures 5 and 6 in which means isillustrated for regulating the stroke of the pistons 29 in theircylinders so that the quantity of oil delivered to the distributingpipes 22'can be accurately dispensed. This regulating means embodies arelatively long nut or sleeve 38 threaded on the upper end of the pistonrod 30 and it is obvious that by ad justing the long'nut or sleeve 38relative tothe cam 37 that the stroke of the piston can be regulated inthat the length of the piston rod The sleeve or its adjusted position byarm 41 having a spring pressed dog 41' carried '47, such as by the useof an eccentric i8 and eccentric strap 49. The stroke of the ratchet arm41 canbe governed by adjusting the link 42 on the oscillating arm 43 andit is to be noted that this arm43 is provided with a plurality ofopenings, into any one of which the pivot pin of the link 42 canbeinserted.

In order to prevent retrograde movement of the ratchet a. spring presseddog is carried by one end wall 12 of the casing or tank 10 andisarranged in opposite direction to the dog 41 of the ratchet arm41- Theshaft 18 can be manually rotated when necessary or desirable by means ofa hand crank 51 whichcan be connected to the shaft 18 in any preferredway.

In order to keep the oil me free flowing con- I wdition in the tank orcasing 10 asteam .pipe 52 can be passed through the casinglongitudinally thereof. This pipe can be provided with coils 53intermediate its length. Likewise the tank can.

be provided with a drain cock 54 at its lower end for permitting theoil. to be drained from the tank when necessary or desirable.

Where more than two oil steam pipes22 are employedthe cylinders 19 canbe arranged in tandem relation transversely of the casing as shown inFigure 3 of the drawings. In this instance I use a counter shaft 55arranged parallel to the operating shaft 18 and the shaft 55 can bedriven from the shaft 18 by means of intermeshing gears 56 and 5'7 keyedrespectively to the shafts 18 and 55. The counter shaft is provided withcams exactly in the same manner as the shaft 18 for operating the pistonof the adjacent cylinder. This eliminates the undue length of the oilreservoir or casing where anumber of feed pipes is required. I

My improved lubricator can be used on locomotives as a flange oiler andlubricator to oil the valve stems and cylinders. In this instance acompartment for each kind of oil can be provided in the oil reservoir orcasing 10, and as shown in Figure 1 I have provided a partition 60dividing the reservoir transversely into a pair of lubricant.

When the lubricator is used on locomotives as a lubricator for valvestems and cylinders, or air compressors, or stationary steam engines, orthe like, where pressure such as air or steam is in the cylinders, Iutilize a valve shown in Figure 8 of'the drawings, This valve is in thenature of a choke plug and is screwed in the top of the cylinder. A verysmall hole 66 is formed in the choke plug. The choke plug has its boreenlarged intermediate its ends to provide a valve seat and a ball valve67 is provided for the seat and is normally held thereon by the pressureof air or steam. This effectively prevents the pressure from thecylinder being lubricated from reaching the oil feed line 22.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided animproved force feed lubricator of exceptionally simple and durable o1compartments, for receiving the different kinds character and which isaccessible for a number of different uses and in which the quantity ofoil dispensed can be readily regulated.

Changes in details may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or thescope of this invention, but:-- 1

What I claim as new'is:

A force feed lubricator comprising an oil reservoir, a cylinderextending into the reservoir, having its bore enlarged defining aninternal annular shoulder, a valve plate fitted against said shoulderhavingan axial way therethrough de-

